This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

Jehanzeb's Diary: Wednesday 8 May 2002

Jehanzeb Khan, disabled by polio as a young child, urges the audience to support efforts to eradicate the disease. He has worked with his Boy Scout troop to promote immunization in Pakistan.

Today the General Assembly Special Session on Children began. I was so excited to see all the security measures when we arrived at UN Plaza.

The first event I participated in was 'The Last Mile to End Polio', held in the UN Visitors Lobby. The event was actually a joint pledge to get rid of polio from the world. Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, first expressed her views. Then Dr. David W. Fleming, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spoke. After that, Mr. Luis Vicente Giay, the Chairman of Rotary International Foundation, promised that this would be the final and successful drive to end polio. Then UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy talked about UNICEF's role in battling polio.

All the dignitaries were invited to sign the pledge promising to get rid of polio. I, Temyadia [16-year-old Temidayo Israel-Abdulai from Nigeria], and Harry Belafonte all signed the pledge too, as witnesses to the promise.

Then we had a group photo, and I was invited to make a final statement. I thanked the signatories and said I hoped it would not be an empty promise.

The second event I attended was the Under-18 Participation Task Force, a follow-up to the Children's Forum. The aim of the event was to brief people about the outcome document of the Children's Forum. We discussed poverty, HIV/AIDS, child exploitation, the environment and protection from war, participation, health and education for children. Then we received a little briefing about 'A World Fit for Us', the statement from the Children's Forum that two child delegates delivered to the UN General Assembly.

After that, the task force participants asked questions about the presentation. The most surprising thing I heard was, "We are not only the future, but we are also the present."

Today I felt so happy to express my views on ending polio, and I am proud that for the first time I have witnessed such a great promise to the children of the world. I think half my mission in life has been achieved today -- to get rid of polio and save the children of the world from such a big problem, which I myself have faced.

Read the report from the 'Last Mile to End Polio' event Jehanzeb participated in.

UNICEF supports the right of every child to be heard, and therefore provides this opportunity for children to voice their views and impressions of the United Nations Special Session on Children. The report above reflects the opinions of an individual child delegate to the Special Session and does not represent the policies or positions of UNICEF.